Health impact assessments

Abstract

Health Impact Assessment (HIA) serves as a tool for policymakers and planners when considering a new policy, project, or plan that will influence the health of people outside of the doctor's office. HIA is a series of steps that can be used to determine how a proposed plan, policy, or project may affect any number of social or environmental conditions, and ultimately health. HIA does not evaluate whether a project or plan should or should not be implemented, but rather serves to inform policymakers and planners on how to make a proposed plan, policy or project more likely to promote health and avoid potentially negative health outcomes. In this article, we present the steps, considerations needed to perform an HIA and illustrations of HIAs that have been done.